How to get the most from video advertising

One of the newest addition to the online marketing world is also one of the toughest to understand. Although consumers are logging on to watch online video in droves, marketers aren't seeing a huge return on their investment. Here are a few tips to increase the ROI of video campaign.

by Kristina Knight

Marketing Sherpa has released their 2009 Video Marketing Benchmark Guide to help marketers improve how their video ads engage video viewers.

First, marketers must change their thinking from buying specific 'times' to buying specific content. In the past, marketers could buy a :30 ad for the evening news, but with the advent of online video, consumers watch the news at different times - and those ads don't always make it online. So, rather than buying 'the news' buy a specific segment of the news such as the weather. By sponsoring a program segment or specific types of content marketers have a better chance of engaging the audience.

Second, don't be afraid to try something different. Nearly all online outlets are beginning to offer some type of online video; don't be afraid to try a few different types of video ads - pre-roll, over-content - or different ways of producing an ad to see how consumers engage with the ads. Once you see how consumers are engaging, there is a better chance of continuing that engagement on a bigger level with your next campaign.

Finally, before signing on with a content provider, check their website out. If there are 5 ads to every piece of content, the site is already cluttered and your ad is likely to become lost. Instead look for a content provider who allows specific advertising targeting so that the video space isn't cluttered with many different ads.